Up In The “Hills”…!

It should be the title of a new Hollywood production, a movie, or even better, a reality TV show like those that are so “en vogue” at the present time.

But it is not, “Up In The Hills” is a one word summary of what An Italian Across America has been up to today.

We started this morning by checking out at the hotel, and loading the car in the same religious order we’ve been following for these past 64 days, making sure that nothing would show up from under the deep blue blanket (one of those that you “borrow” on any intercontinental flights”) that has been such a trusted companion for all of these days.

We initially planned on visiting the USS Midway, and many other things, but then we gave up and decided to drive south on I-5 towards the Border with Mexico.

I told you yesterday about the reading I’ve done, and those pictures that fascinated me (the Bull Fighting Arena in particular) from the very first time I saw them; we had to go!

The place we were looking for is called “Border Field Park” (very original name…), but guess what, it is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, plus holidays. The GPS told me that the water, and consequently the commemorative monument erected between these two countries was only another mile away from where we were presently standing, and so we decided to give it a try.

The weather has been always very pleasant, and today was no exception.

We were initially confused as to where to go, as there is really no marked path to follow to get to the Monument, but then eventually we got on the right track, and started walking; I would say, roughly we did about 1.5 miles each way if not more, but again, thanks to the nice Pacific Breeze, we made it!

I could see the Arena in Tijuana from the Parking Lot where we left the car, that was a big incentive to us, and after all, we went on top of a mountain to see the Medicine Wheel, we can also walk three miles on the sand (mixed with asphalt) to see the Monument, the “Fence”, and the Arena!

And so we did!

Here’s a picture of the Arena:

Here’s a picture of the Monument:

Here’s a picture of the impressive fence (I wonder why we didn’t find the same thing up north at the border with Canada! LOL):

And this is a picture to show how the fence goes straight in the Pacific Ocean:

We also chatted for a while with a Border Patrol Officer. She was there with her binoculars, and we asked her what would have been the best way to get back to the car (since we were tired and didn’t want to go back the same way!), she told us exactly what we didn’t want to hear, the way back was exactly the same way we got there! LOL

Hap wanted a picture with her, and so, here it is, for all of you to see:

We left the parking lot at around 1.30PM and headed towards Los Angeles, CA where we arrived around 4PM. Traffic wasn’t so bad until we started hitting the L.A. Metropolitan area 30 something miles away from downtown, that’s when things started to get a little nasty.

Traffic in Los Angeles really stinks, there’s no other way to put it.

Just to give you an idea, this is how bad traffic was this afternoon before rush hour!

This time I also managed to get a nice shot of the Los Angeles City Limit road sign:

And I also got a very nice picture of the Los Angeles skyline:

Our first stop had to be Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive.

I swear I’ve never seen such a high concentration of exotic cars, like this one (a yellow taxi Rolls Royce) parked on Rodeo Drive:

And also, I would like to remind the guys reading the blog that a diamond is forever, buy one at this local shop and tell them I sent you! ;-)

We also went around Beverly Hills to try to see if we could find some of the VIPs’ houses, and we did, thanks to the map that our friends Frank and Bob gave us a few days ago in Palm Springs.

We saw the houses of Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, and Tom Cruise, just to name a few, drove around the “Hills” to admire such a high concentration of expensive “everything”, and then went on to our next stop, Melrose Place!

I don’t about you, but when I was a teenager, I was crazy about the TV Show (Melrose Place), and so was my brother, so I had to physically get there and snap a picture of street sign to remember the old days:

We then went to Beachwood Drive, which is the best way to have a nice view of the Hollywood Sign.

Here are some shots of the sign:

And another one:

On the way to Beachwood Drive we also managed to drive on Historical Route 66 for a short time, and here’s the proof of this achievement:

After that, we decided it was time to get to the Hotel (very close to downtown), and we did that by going through “Koreatown” with its many signs in Korean that I truly love (I don’t know why, but I think that Korean letters are very stylish).

Here's another one:

This evening we settled for a nice hamburger after the three wonderful dinners we had with our friends Steve and JR in San Diego. Not exactly the quality of food we’ve been used to for this past three days, but not even that bad either.

After dinner we decided to take a stroll down Santa Monica Boulevard, then hopped in the car, and went to Hollywood Boulevard, to see the Kodak Theater, the Grauman’s Chinese Theater (Spectacular to say the least), and the most famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tomorrow is going to be a relatively easy day for us; as soon as we check out, we will try to go back on Hollywood Boulevard and take some pictures over there of the Theaters, and the Walk of Fame. After that, we will start our journey East, the last of four legs on this trip!

This is not the end, but it is definitely getting closer and closer, and I still can’t believe how time has gone by so fast!

Tomorrow we will probably stop in Ridgecrest, CA for the night, as we get ready to drive through the Death Valley to reach Las Vegas, NV and its zillion lights and casinos, on the evening of the 3rd.

Sounds like we’re up for some fun!

And now I’m ready to go to bed, we had quite an interesting day!

Good night my friends,
Nico

Welcome To The Jungle!

It did feel like we were catapulted from San Diego, CA to the wildest part of Africa today while we visited the San Diego Zoo.

We woke up early this morning, the sun was out, and the temperature was around 78F, just about perfect for me to put the top down while driving through the streets of San Diego.

Today we had planned to visit Balboa Park and the world renowned San Diego Zoo, and that’s exactly what we did.

We started off at “El Prado”, off Laurel Street, where you basically have to go through an old bridge to get inside the park. Defining Balboa Park as immense is an understatement, that’s how big the park is. You could spend a few days touring the park, and still there would be something missing in your sightseeing, and as we only had a day to visit, we decided to slowly drive the car through its streets, and try to make the most out of the experience.

Many of the buildings around the park are in Spanish Revival Style (they have that sort of Mexican look), starting with the Museum Of Man and the California Tower on the western entrance of the park.

On our way to the Zoo we also saw the “Spreckels Organ Pavilion”, which is the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ; the “House of Hospitality”; and the “Casa Del Prado Theater”.

The Zoo had a very valuable option for its tickets: $34 including taxes, and unlimited rides for their Aerial Tramway, Bus Tours, and Express Buses.

You have to understand this is a considerably big Zoo, and it took us around 4 hours to visit.

We started with the Skyfari Aerial Tramway who took us from the East side to the West Side of the Zoo. The ride was comfortable, and very panoramic, although I didn’t really see anything other than birds nets, cages, and A/C units on top of the buildings’ roofs!

The first attraction we managed to visit were the Polar Bears. I was able to get a great shot of one of the two polar bears, half in the water, half outside of the water, I think it’s hilarious, and I wanted to share it with you.

Here is the first one:

And here is the second one, classic “Polar Bear” pose:

After that, we saw several different inhabitants of the African Savanas.

We saw Zebras:

We saw Gazelles:

Giraffes:

And Camels:

Then we went to the Birds of Prey cages, and I saw a Condor for the first time (not many Condors in Sardinia!).

We also visited the “Cats” cages, but most of them, as any real cat, were sleeping in their caves. The only one who was sleeping close to the glass window was this beautiful exemplar of Malaysian Tiger. I managed to get some shots, but the glass window was as dirty as it could be, thanks to all the kids putting their sticky, sweaty, and dirty hands all over the place. Oh well, I don’t blame the kids in this case, they have all the rights to have fun and enjoy the Zoo, who I really blame are those parents who don’t pay attention to their children.

Here is the tiger:

And here are its big paws:

We also spent some time looking at the monkeys, as we both couldn’t get over the fact that they’re so agile, moving from one tree to another, through branches, ropes, and other things that men put for them to enjoy.

I wonder if they ever lose their balance and fall down the trees, and if they do, if they get injured, or they’re just like cats who sometimes fall down from the 4th or 5th floor of a high rise condominium and survive!

We then stood in line to get on the 35 minutes Bus Tour. The buses are those double-deckers that have no roof. We stood in line a little bit more but managed to get a great sit on the top of the bus where I could take more pictures.

I was right, from up there we were both able to look at the Giant Pandas without having to stand in line another 30 minutes to just walk by them for a few second. The tour was very nice, it did last for 35 minutes, and other than giving the visitor a lot of information and insight about the park, it provides people with plenty of advice on what to see next, while visiting the San Diego Zoo. Hap and I went to the Sea Lion show!

We really enjoyed the show, who not only featured a very clever (and very hungry) Sea Lion, it also had a Grey Wolf, and some big yellow and blue parrots.

After four hours inside the Zoo we decided it was time to head out and go visit one of the other highlights of our trip to San Diego, the first California Mission created by Fr. Junipero Serra on July 16th 1769.

This time we didn’t have to pay to get in (the lady let us in without paying the price for the ticket because she said the Evening Mass was about to get starting), and so we had all the time to enjoy the Mission, its quietness, and the surrounding buildings who have all be restored to their original splendor.

Other than the church, we’ve been able to visit Fr. Junipero Serra’s house besides the church, the Choir Rehearsal Room, and a small but very interesting museum about the history of all the mission on the California Missions Trail.

Fr. Junipero Serra was a very small person, only 5’3”, with a weight of 110 pounds! I took a picture of Hap next to his life-size statue in the Mission’s courtyard:

We then came back to the Hotel where I planned some more for the trip, waiting to join our two friends Steve and JR for cocktails and dinner at a local favorite Thai Restaurant here in San Diego.

Dinner was out of this world, try their mild curry Chicken, or “Drunken” noodles (a little spicy), or the always good Chicken Panang. The restaurant is called “Taste Of Thai” at 527 University Avenue, San Diego. Reasonably prices for a great dining experience.

Tomorrow we have the USS Midway on our plans, but I would also like to drive 20 miles south to get as close as I can to the border with Mexico. A few months ago I saw some pictures on a tourist guide of the Fighting Bulls Arena of Tijuana, I want to see if I can get the same picture myself, as when I saw the picture in the book I was sort of daydreaming about reaching this (to me) “exotic” destination!

Now I need to get some sleep, it’s been a long day!

Goodnight my friends,
Nico

There Is Always A First Time…

Good Evening!

I didn’t finish telling you yesterday about how this trip has been so far full of unexpected, pleasant and unpleasant surprises, that this morning we had a new one!

It won’t probably be the last since we still have a long way to go before coming back home to Fort Lauderdale, FL.

For those of you concerned about the “License Plate” situation (Oh yes, I know you are! LOL), we went to the “San Diego Police Department – West Division” this morning at around 11.30AM, after calling them earlier in the morning to ask what the procedure was to have a police report issued on the matter.

Well, apparently the SDPD is very busy, so they just give you an incident number that you can mention to any Police Officer if you get pulled over on the road, but nothing more than that. Then someone eventually calls you, and you have to go to the nearest station to get an official document.

We don’t have that kind of time, and that’s why we decided to push it and see if we could get it issued today.

The Police Officer helping us couldn’t have been more helpful, she prepared the Police Report for us, so that we could fax it to the other nice lady we’ve been dealing with back in Florida.

It is at that point, while the officer was writing the report, that I felt something strange that I had never felt before in my life. The lady was behind a wooden desk that started shaking, and at that point I thought it was because of me leaning towards the desk with all my bodyweight!

I don’t know how to explain it, but at that point I raised my elbows from the desk and I looked at the lady with a blank expression, not knowing what was going on. She looked back at me saying: “It might be an earthquake!”. I thought she was just pulling my leg, as we’ve been kind of kidding around all the time while she was writing the report.

This is a picture I downloaded from the Internet:

At that point, the desk had almost stopped shacking, and that’s when I glanced outside, still not believing what my senses were trying to tell me, and I saw one of the big vases blocking the entrance (there were three vases positioned like a triangle who have been put there for security reasons so that people can’t get into the Police Department with a car), and I when I say big, I want to emphasize the word “BIG”, that was sort of oscillating as if there was a strong wind outside.

You might think at that point I finally realized what was going on, but I didn’t, and neither did Hap, who by the way, had never been in an earthquake before either!

It is not after we arrived at the hotel, and I checked the news on my PDA, that I found out Los Angeles had been hit by an earthquake who could also be felt in San Diego and Las Vegas! I ran inside the lobby like a kid would run inside a candy store after not eating for a few days, and I told him: “It was an earthquake!”. The lady at the front desk confirmed, and for a moment I thought that was the coolest thing!

You have to excuse me, but I’m really thrilled…! Now I can save the money and avoid going to Universal Studios Los Angeles to experience their “Earthquake simulation”!

After checking in at the Sheraton here in San Diego, we went for lunch with our two friends from Palm Beach, Steve and JR at a very nice Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego, with pictures of Bill Clinton on the walls.

The restaurant was pretty good, we had a few beers (they had Pyramid Hefeweizen), a lot of chips, salsa, and guacamole, and then I ordered a Beef Taco/Cheese Enchilada combination, while Hap got a giant soup with homemade (right there in front of you from scratch) flour tortillas.

That was around 1.30PM, it is now almost midnight, and we still feel like we had it 20 minutes ago, that’s why we decided to skip dinner for tonight.

We went back to the hotel around 5PM, I spent some time reorganizing our sightseeing and schedule for the trip, and then took an Italian nap (two and a half ours).

We went out for a ride around 9PM to downtown San Diego, where the PetCo Ball Park was all lit up for a ball game (I wonder who won!), and then got on the Coronado Bridge to get to Coronado Island, and snap some pictures of the San Diego nocturnal skyline.

Coronado looked like a nice place, we’re certainly thinking about going back tomorrow or the day after for some more sightseeing and for visiting the famous Hotel Coronado.

We then went back to San Diego Downtown, to look for the pier where the USS Midway is located. It doesn’t take that much to find it as the Aircraft Carrier is all lit up like a Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve.

A picture of USS Midway from Coronado Island:

The weather has been very pleasant so far, a little overcast this morning, but certainly nothing to complain about, as long as it doesn’t rain.

On our “things to do and see list”, other than the above mentioned places, we also have the San Diego Zoo, who should be one of the best in the USA if not the world, one the Franciscan missions, up on top of a hill close to Hillcrest, Balboa Park, and the Museum of Photographic Arts.

All right, time to call it a day, to be exact, our 62nd day on the road fellows!

Goodnight,
Nico

We Got New Tires!

Good Evening Gentlemen!

Here we are again, after another day of traveling, that just like any other day we spent on the road, had some unexpected surprises waiting for us.

We took it really easy this morning as we woke up late, had breakfast, and hung around at the house with Frank and Bob for the last time before leaving.

America’s Tire Company called around 1PM to tell us the tires we ordered on Friday for the car had just arrived, which was certainly a good news.

We decided to spend some more time with our hosts (who have been wonderful from day one, but then again, that didn’t come as a surprise for us), and so we headed to the Indian Spa and Casino in downtown Palm Springs to have lunch together.

After sharing some more stories, and some good, healthy laughs, we thanked them for the wonderful hospitality, and headed back on the road to go to Indio and get this new tires mounted before it was too late to get to San Diego by dinner time.

We left the store at around 4.45PM and arrived in San Diego, CA around 7PM.

And here comes the surprise, which is at the same time hilarious and upsetting, at least for me it is!

We’re staying with our two friends Steve and JR for the night, until we get our room package tomorrow at the Sheraton, and so, to make a long story short, being the good hosts they are, they came out of the house to greet us!

Well, Steve really liked the car and started getting around it to look at all the features, and the head space on the inside, and then all of a sudden he asked us: “What happened to your plate?!?!”. Since I thought he remembered the fact that I did have a vanity plate at one point, Hap started telling him the story about how we had the plate stolen somewhere between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and he kept going on and on, and that’s when I glanced down and I saw what I had seen already roughly 20 something days ago: we had NO plate!

I was probably the only one who wasn’t laughing; maybe because I knew already what we went through to get this one, and what we will go through to get another one?

So, here we are, back to square one, once again without a license plate (and yes, it is a big deal!), and with more than 5,000 miles before we get back to Florida.

So tomorrow morning instead of enjoying the city and the beautiful weather, we will be going to the San Diego Police Department, wait in line to have someone write the report, talk to the lady back in Florida to see what she can do to issue a new plate, try to figure out where we’re going to be and when, and then maybe if I’m not too upset, or even too tired, actually see some of what the city has to offer.

Goodnight folks, it sure isn’t boring out here! LOL
Nico

Just Chillin'...

Good evening everybody!

We had quite a relaxing day today, and you know what, I really needed it!

For a day, I didn't have to think about anything to do, places to visit, or roads to drive on. You know, it takes a lot of work to be a tourist, and who thinks it is quite the opposite, well, he's a fool!

Bob and Frank took us to the Casino this morning for breakfast. You can't beat that deal, $5.99 for a high class buffet that wouldn't leave anybody hungry! :-)

Unfortunately, you know how Italians are, we're not used to all those sausages, bacon, eggs, etc. for breakfast, and therefore, I just had some Belgian waffles with some strawberries syrup, and some chocolate and vanilla ice cream on the side. It was more than enough for me!

We plan on going back on Monday and have lunch there, I'm sure it is going to be another great deal. As we were walking out, I glanced at the food ready to be served, and wow, I wouldn't have got any problem to eat the whole thing! :-)

After we finished breakfast, Frank and Bob have been so nice (Thank YOU guys), to take us out on a "VIP Real Estate" sightseeing tour. It was quite interesting, although most of the names were totally new for me; I guess that's the price I have to be for being a foreigner in this country!

However, some of the names did ring a bell, like for instance, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Madonna, Valentino (Rudolph), etc.

It's been real hot today, and so, after we finished with the tour, we just went back home, and I took advantage of the situation to get some exercise (mostly crunches for my deflated tummy! LOL), write some Emails to friends, and yes, take a nap (a luxury I haven't been able to afford in the past 59 days!).

Tomorrow is going to be another lazy day here in the desert, because here right now is more about the nightlife rather than anything else...

It's kind of late as usual, I should better go to bed and get my beauty sleep as usual.

Good night my friends,
Nico

It'saaa Hottttaaaa!

It’s HOT!

Good afternoon guys!

Now, who said the temperature in the California desert is not so hot “because here we don’t have the humidity you guys have down there in the swamps in Florida”?!?!

That’s plain b***s*it!

It’s hot here, 105F and rising!

We left El Monte, CA on the outskirt of Los Angeles this morning at around 10AM. Before we left, we made sure we could schedule an appointment on the phone with the Volkswagen dealer closest to Palm Springs, CA which is only 20 miles East in Indio, CA.

Initially the lady told us they had nothing available for the day, and how could I blame her, since we called this morning to schedule an appointment for the same day! But then we spoke with one of the service guys who didn’t promise us anything, but instead told us to bring the car in before 3.30PM and he would have seen what he could do for us.

The drive from L.A. to Indio, CA took about 2 hours, on I-10E towards San Bernardino, CA. It’s been a pleasant drive, with little or no traffic, and a speed limit that could fit any experienced race car driver like I am! ;-)

Both Hap and I were pretty amused to see the extension of the wind farms on both side of the interstate, they went on and on for miles, as silent white giants, making it for a more interesting drive across the California Desert and its mountains.

E.T.A. (Estimated Time of Arrival) in Indio, Ca: 12PM; actual time of arrival: 11.45AM.

Our efforts to get here around noon basically did us nothing good, as the whole crew at Paradise Volkswagen was out for lunch. The good thing is that Craig, one of the guys at the service reception, assured us that the car would get serviced this afternoon, which is great for us, as this way we won’t have to think about it till we get back home in Fort Lauderdale.

We went to a nice Bakery/Restaurant called Coco’s, just about a mile west of the Car Dealer, that gave us the chance to kill some time, and also get some good food (I had a Asian Chicken Salad with Won-Ton strips, etc), after the disappointment we had last night with the Malaysian Restaurant that got such wonderful reviews over the internet!

We’re now back at the Volkswagen Dealer, we turned the car in, and I’m taking the chance to write the daily post from here. Apparently, unforeseen events are always around the corner, as Craig, the guy who is taking care of us just told us that we need two new tires for the front of the car that apparently are badly damaged. He said the thread is beginning to split up on the driver’s side, and on the passenger’s side, we have a problem with the shoulder of the tire. These are all problems the tires probably had even before we bought the car, and for that reason, on Monday, when we go to the American Tires store, we will see what we can get from them.

We arrived at our friends house around 4.30PM as planned, and after a quick shower and a drink, we were out again, to join some other friends for drinks first, and then eventually for dinner.

Our two hosts’ friends, Neil and Ken, turned out to be really friendly and pleasant to talk with, not to mention that they are both crazy about Italy! Now, how could I have possibly resisted that?

The six of us had a really nice talk, about Palm Springs and the desert, about Italy, about food (I’m trying to see if I can convince Neil to give me the recipe for his “To Die For” Gazpacho), and last but not least, this wonderful experience that Hap and I have been living now for 58 days, going through many places, and living many different situations, like the one today who brought us to realize how lucky we were today to have the car serviced at the Volkswagen dealer, where they noticed the problems with the tires! As someone once said: Better safe than sorry!!!

The restaurant Frank and Bob picked up was also very nice; food was excellent, and if that was not enough, we also had a very beautiful lady, with a charming voice, singing a mix of old and not so old tunes for all of us.

We’re now back home, and it’s kind of late for me to be on the computer to write the blog (12.40AM at the present time), but we did have a nice day, and I wanted to be able to seize the moment right now that the experience is still “fresh” in my mind.

Thank you Frank, thank you Bob for giving us the chance to experience the desert and its nightlife, and for enlarging our circle of friends introducing us to Neil and Ken this afternoon, and then afterwards at dinner.

I don’t know what we’re going to be up to tomorrow, probably go sightseeing around Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, etc., it depends on the temperature (110F this afternoon was enough for me!)

From Palm Springs I guess it’s all.

Have a peaceful night my friends,
Nico

Yo! Welcome To L.A.!

Good Evening my fellow blog patrons!

We made it to the City Of Angels late this afternoon, and I’m glad we did, as I already love L.A.!

As I mentioned yesterday, we made it to the Hearst Castle this morning. We arrived at the visitor center parking lot at around 10AM, roughly 10 minutes after we left the hotel at San Simeon, 4 miles south of the castle .

Hearst Castle is administered by the State of California, as it is part of the State Parks system.

They offer five different kinds of tours, as thoroughly explained on the castle’s website, each costs $24. We took Tour #1, designed for first timers, a tour that gives visitors the chance to know more about Mr. Hearst, his guests at the property, and some of the features in and around the property.

One reprimand I have to make concerns the fact that visitors are not given the chance to purchase a combination including all of the tours for a more convenient price than what you would pay if you take each tour separately. $24 times five is a lot of money, but maybe with a combination, people would probably be willing to spend some extra dollars, and see more about the place, because trust me, there’s a lot to see.

The castle is beautiful, but in my opinion the inside doesn’t even come close to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. But since this is not a post on the Biltmore Estate, let’s talk a little bit about what I did like about the Hearts Castle.

First of all, I liked the extensive use of Italian marble they made everywhere; the outside swimming pool is surrounded by beautiful Roman and Greek (I’m not an expert, just guessing) statues, there are marble benches everywhere, and even in the inside, the use of marble have been widespread.

I also liked the architectural style of the outside, Mediterranean on most of the property, with a Mediterranean flora as well.

Mr. Hearst adopted different styles for different building, and different rooms, most of what I saw today recalled the 17th and 18th century styles.

The façade of the main building was what really impressed me the most, as it almost look like one of the churches you would probably see in my native island of Sardinia.

The indoor swimming pool at the end of the tour was simply breathtaking; it was so inviting that I almost thought about doing something crazy, like jumping with all my clothes on for example!

And here is another one:

And another one:

We left the Hearst Castle at around 12PM, and drove to the town of Morro Bay, CA, where we met Cari, in this case, MY savior! Yes, I finally got a hair cut this morning, and we have been lucky enough to be sent to her Salon in Morro Bay from my loyal GPS.

I had a nice talk with Cari while she was cutting my hair, and that’s when I found out about her Italian roots, in the city of Bari, Puglia (Apulia).

She gave me a nice hair cut, I asked for something short, and that’s exactly what she did, eventually I regretted asking her to cut it that short, but hey, let’s put it this way, at least I will not have to ask my GPS to find me another good soul to cut my hair again before I get back home safe and sound in Fort Lauderdale!

We left Cari at around 1.30PM after we both got a nice hair cut, and went back on the road, on California 1/101 South, towards the beautiful coastal town of Santa Barbara.

That’s basically where we started hitting traffic (first for an accident) and then for the usual rush hour. Traffic is probably one of the few things that really drive me crazy, today it was absolutely ridiculous; and I thought Miami was bad, I’m so naive!

We arrived in Los Angeles (Hollywood) around 7PM, went Hotel hunting (something that could fit our “100 days on the road” budget) but didn’t find anything that we liked.

We’re now 20 mile east of downtown L.A., in El Monte, CA, and as the word might suggest, it is certainly not a French community! LOL

We had dinner at a Malaysian Restaurant, and although it had raving reviews over the internet, mostly from locals, I don’t feel like I would recommend it to any of my family…

Tomorrow we have several different things to do.

We have to deal with the car, who has to get serviced again (Can you believe we’ve been on the road for 11,000 miles already?), we have to call Windham Resorts to deal with a reservation we made for a hotel package, and at the same time, we have to drive to Palm Springs to visit with our two friends, Frank and Bob, before they leave for Vancouver, BC!

There will be time to visit Los Angeles and do all the touristy things (like the Chinese Theater, Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Beverly Hills, etc.) on our way back from Palm Springs, and then we’re off for a new adventure, down south to San Diego, where we will join Steve and JR, our dear friends from Florida.

From the City Of Angels I guess is all.

Good night guys,
Nico